The Minster – York’s largest and oldest church. This is the side entrance used by most people visiting the church.
Both of these views show part of the huge central tower. Originals plans called for a 150-foot spire to go on top but the structure’s pillars and foundations would not support the weight.
While repairs were being done on the Minster the workmen found several of these columns under the floor. They date back to the Romans who had a regional headquarters located on this same site. This column was reassembled to stand here as an example of part of the Roman building that had once existed on this site. In fact Emperor Constantine The Great (274 – 337 AD) was proclaimed Emperor here in York in 306 AD.
Later the Saxons and then the Normans built houses of worship on this site. As was common in those periods all Houses of Worship were built on an east west axis in keeping with Christ coming in the eastern sky during the rapture.
The Minster is built on the foundation of an earlier structure that would fit in the central core of the current building. The builders used the existing foundation and it has served well for hundreds of years but recently it was found that main pillars were leaning and cracks were forming. The staff found that the original foundation was actually a structure of large wooden beams floating on the Romans draining system. Some of the logs were rotting and falling into the drainage culvert. A very complex structure of steel reinforce concrete was carefully built under the main pillars to stabilize the structure again. It was while they were doing this that they found the Roman remains.
The original builders must have known something was not right because they built this intricately carved wall to support two of the main pillars in the center of the church. This wall is right below the central spire.
As you look up into the tower we see large stained glass windows and a webbed ceiling structure. The middle button holding the beams together is 6 feet across. The spire is so high that you could comfortably put an 18-story building inside it.
As in many ancient cathedrals the stained glass windows are breath taking. The windows portray biblical accounts and commemorate the lives of saints.
They have survived wars and fires. During World War II they were removed and buried to protect them. After the war it took about 20 years to reinstall all of them as the parish staff took the opportunity to relead the panels.
A stone wall surrounds the old city of York. You can walk around it just as they did hundreds of years ago.